Introduction by Congress of Vienna (CoV)’s Assistant Designer & Editor, Fred Schachter: The below is an After-Action-Report (AAR) of a CoV Campaign VASSAL game whose core players were located in the USA and Europe. It is a compilation of emails I provided the team between gaming sessions. I served as the game’s chronicler as well as an observer and kind of “living rulebook” should a question arise. A CoV Campaign Game comprises ten turns and a one turn session was conducted each Saturday.

The first five turn’s of this AAR, encompassing the period of Austria’s neutrality, before it joined the fray against that “Corsican Ogre”, Napoleon I, emperor of the French, are covered by this piece’s initial segment: Congress of Vienna (with Wargame Flavor Rules) After Action Reports Turns 1-5 “Austria’s Neutrality”. Inside GMT blog readers are encouraged to reference this for background as to how our AAR’s players came to the juncture this article encompasses.

During each one turn session the players were not rushed and could take as much time as desired to negotiate with one another and deliberate a play. No one minded each turn taking 1-2 hours to complete for everyone was having a joyously fun time (which, of course, is why we game)! It should be noted that experienced Congress of Vienna players, who agree to limit “table talk” or simply progress at a brisk pace, can get through a Campaign Game in 5-6 hours with the shorter scenarios being much quicker to complete.

To best appreciate this AAR, a general background regarding CoV will assuredly help. This can be gained by referencing GMT’s site for the game which is replete with a variety of material. See: GMT Games – Congress of Vienna

With that, enjoy this Congress of Vienna Campaign Game After-Action-Report for its turns 6-8, the period before Austria abandons neutrality and enters the war! At the conclusion of this history the four players share their musings about this particular contest and the Congress of Vienna game overall. The CoV VASSAL map saw a few improvements during this game’s conduct as Frank, myself, and the players noticed need for a clarifying “tweak” here and there as well as for a few rule improvements…

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Turn 6, September 1813:

This Congress of Vienna game is a Campaign Game using all Wargame Flavor Rules. As turn 6 commenced the CoV Major Countries were led by… Russia – Brice, Britain – Chris, Austria – Ku, and France – Akar. Turn 5 ended with the Victory Point Track markers positioned as follows: France: 66VP, Russia: 39VP, and Britain & Austria tied at 32VP each. Austria would be dealt 11 cards and the other three Major Powers 13 cards each.

Turn 6, September 1813, (a Replacement Turn) commenced with Benningsen & von Humboldt added into the Russian hand. Austria automatically entered the war which caused the Armistice and Austria at War Issues to be retired from the game. Russia and Austria each received a British Financial Aid marker on their National Track’s respective one spaces. Britain received an extra Resource. France would not receive Replacements for Belgium or Toulouse but did automatically receive Soult and Ney into the French card hand. The first, Soult, is a formidable card against British armies in Spain or Gascony!

The final dice results for the Initial Environment Table were a “4” and “3”. Austria therefore received an extra card and selected Schwarzenberg. The “3” (2nd die roll) was NO EFFECT. 4 US Militia units were placed into The War of 1812 Box for a total of 5.

The players then wagered cards. Low value card was Austria placing Berthier, a “2”, on its National Track versus Britain’s play of Davout, a “5”… Britain consequently selected the Government of France Issue to place on its Track’s 3 space. To all the preceding-referenced Issues each Major Power selected two more:

Austria: a Military Operation & Congress of Peace

France: Recruitment & Absolutism/Liberalism

Russia: a Military Operation & Generalissimo

Britain: a Military Operation & Recruitment

Note that not a single Minor Country Issue selection was made.

Highlights of turn 6’s Diplomacy Phase included: Russia playing Marmont, who has a +3 special bonus for playing Government of France, to get that Issue into the Russian Seat (7 space). To Britain’s chagrin, Austria played Wellington to move 

Generalissimo to the Austrian National Track’s 5 space and later lock it into its Seat. In a most unusual play, the Tsar Leader played Absolutism/Liberalism to the Russian Track’s Seat for an Absolutism die roll only to have Britain’s Castlereagh debate the Issue and bring it back to the Negotiation Table. France subsequently secured the Issue for a Liberalism die roll. Neither Austria (Metternich) nor France (Napoleon) played their respective Leaders during this Diplomacy Phase. 

The turn 6 Diplomacy Phase ended with three Issue markers remaining on the Negotiation Table: British Recruitment, French Recruitment, and, saliently, a Russian Military Operation marker. Russia, who in retrospect was perhaps a bit distracted by the excitement of Diplomacy Phase action, would now have no Military Operation marker for the forthcoming War Phase! 

Each Major Power acquired the following Issues:

Austria (3): a Military Operation, British Financial Aid, & Generalissimo

France (1): Absolutism/Liberalism

Russia (3): Government of France, Congress of Peace, British Financial Aid

Britain (1): a Military Operation

Austria and Russia were tied at three Issues each. This left it up to Britain to use its National “Tie-Breaker” Ability. Still smarting for Austria not trading Wellington to him, Britain selected Russia as turn 6’s Diplomacy Phase winner to receive its 2VP reward. Payback, eh?

Play then proceeded to the Government Phase.

Congress of Peace: The VP situation was such that this Wargame Flavor Rule CoP could not end the war; but it would have VP effects. Russia and France had to sustain TWO penalties. Each involved a die roll divided in half with any fraction rounded up. The Russian die roll penalty was for winning the turn 6 Diplomacy Phase for a -2VP penalty. France, as VP Track leader, then sustained a -3VP penalty… damaging France, of course, was Russia’s purpose and in that the Russian player, although taking some lumps of his own, was successful!

Liberalism: Britain and France spent extra Resources to remove any need for a die roll. No “anything but a one” this time, eh? The Liberalism Track’s pawn advanced into the “Democracy” space for Britain and France to each receive 5VP!

Pax Britannica: Britain spent a Resource for a +1 modifier. This proved unneeded with a die roll of 4. The Pax Britannica pawn advanced into its “Democracy” prerequisite box and a +2VP reward to Britain. 

Future Government of France: this was won by Russia, resulting in the track’s pawn leaving the light blue colored “French Peers Regency” space to enter the “No Agreement” space. The results of this move were: a -3VP penalty upon France, -1VP penalty on Austria, -1VP penalty on Britain, but a +1VP reward to Russia.

Various military support markers were acquired by the Major Powers. Britain placed its Military Operation marker in the War of 1812 Box, in hopes of achieving a victory to move its Track Marker to the +2 Britain Box, thereby opening the possibility of obtaining the war ending Treaty of Ghent. Austria, who briefly flirted with placing its one and only Military Operation marker to attack Venice on track F, was persuaded that for the better good of the Coalition, an attack on Central Europe, track A, would be best, and finally, France placed its free Military Operation marker received for Napoleon being available for the War Phase; to attack British-held Castile on Spain track C.

Turn 6, September 1813’s War Phase consisted of three battles:

Central Europe track A: Here the Generalissimo-led Russian Army of Silesia (8 Russian, 7 Prussian units) with the Austrian Army of Bohemia (9 Austrian units) which suffered a -1DRM command control penalty for having 13 or more units and having Russian & Austrian military support markers attacked Saxony from Silesia. The Generalissimo‘s +3DRM with +6DRM more for the two military support markers and 23 effective units initially placed the Allied DRM track marker on its 32 space, enough to inflict 4 French losses BEFORE military cards came into consideration. Massive, eh?

The French Grand Armée was but 11 military units, but France had what it believed some very fine military cards and decided to make a fight of it and did not declare a Withdrawal. France had Napoleon, Oudinot, Murat, Poniatowski (who survived his “Death Die Roll”), and the devastating military card N-6, “Allied Lack of Coordination”, to inflict a -6DRM on the Coalition.

The huge Allied force had Von Bulow, Yorck, Wittgenstein, and Benningsen for Russia while Austria contributed Schwarzenberg and Prince Reuss-Plauen. It was five French military cards versus six Allied military cards for one huge and epic battle! The Russian player rolled a “9” versus the French player’s “6”. The result was a Major French Defeat with France losing 4 military units and the Allies 3 units, which the Austrian Generalissimo equitably distributed a loss of 1 Russian, 1 Prussian, and 1 Austrian military unit.

The Grande Armée was compelled to retreat into track A’s Bavaria space abandoning Saxony and losing 1 card for next turn’s French hand. France suffered a -5VP penalty (-2VP for Napoleon’s battlefield defeat and -3VP for Saxony) while both Russia and Austria received +5VP each (+2VP for Napoleon’s battlefield defeat and +3VP for Saxony) their two armies advanced from Silesia into Saxony.

What a “Battle of Nations” that was! During the post battle discussion, we speculated that because Russia did not have a Military Operation marker to initiate a Northern Europe track B battle; it inadvertently had to focus its military cards solely on the track A battle against Napoleon… which ultimately resulted in the emperor’s Saxony defeat. Plausible explanation? It was a fun discussion.

Western/Northern Spain track C: The 9 military unit French Army of Spain under Soult and Suchet with a military support marker attacked Castile from Gascony against the British Army of Portugal consisting of 10 units (3 British, 2 Portuguese, and 5 Spanish military units), a military support marker, with a +3DRM for Spain’s homeland bonus and another +3DRM for Guerillas led by Hill, Graham, and Morillo. The ensuing dice rolling resulted in a stalemated battle with each side losing 2 military units (Britain lost 1 British and 1 Portuguese unit).

The War of 1812 Box (G): 4 British fleets and 2 Canadian militia with military card N-9’s +3DRM and Tecumseh (who survived his “Death Die Roll”) attacked 5 US militia for whom the French player could not offer a single military card of support. The French dice roll was “8” versus a poor British dice roll of “5”. This resulted in a stalemate with each side losing 2 units. The British lost 1 fleet and 1 militia. The US would carry-over a single military unit into turn 7. The 1812 Track VP Marker remained in its +1VP British Space.

End of turn VP were then awarded: +2VP to Britain for the War of 1812 and for retaining Castile, +1VP to Austria for having the Generalissimo, and +1VP to France for Austria being at war. The VP Track Markers at the end of turn 6, September 1813, were positioned as follows: France: 61VP, Britain: 40VP, Austria: 38VP, Russia: 33VP.

A fun, exciting, and interesting Congress of Vienna turn, eh? When we resume via SKYPE at the usual time the following week, I reminded the players to please take advance note of the turn 7, October 1813 Initial Situation Card which compels France to “Stand Fast” with its track A & B armies. 

Turn 7, October 1813:

This Congress of Vienna Campaign Game’s session saw player continuity with Akar playing France, Brice Russia, Ku Austria, and Chris Britain. As observer/chronicler, I’ll endeavor to add some more detail of play to better illustrate several of the game’s nuances. Frank will continue to “chime in” as he deems appropriate.

This turn’s Initial Situation A (Historical) Deck Card had the Generalissimo Issue marker placed on the 1 space of the French track! Russia got one of its Military Operation markers on its 2 space, while Austria commenced with the Saxony, and one of its Military Operation markers on its 1 space with Schwarzenberg placed as a bonus into Austria’s hand. Britain was compelled to place one of its Financial Aid markers on each of the Russia and Austrian National Track’s 2 spaces and, due to poor weather, would suffer a -2DRM for any battle involving their Army of Portugal on Spain track C.

The worst news was for France, whose Grande Armée (track A) and Army of Elbe (track B) are forbidden to select a Withdraw option from battle. It’s “stand and fight” for them (or attack, as we will learn)!

The Initial Situation Table dice roll was “snake eyes”, a 1+1: this resulted in Britain gaining a card of choice (Wellington, of course) and a new fleet which which the British player placed into the War of 1812 Box. 2 US militia units were added into the War of 1812 Box, bringing its total to 3 US militia… not exactly an imposing-sized force, eh? 

The card wagers for gaining an extra Issue of choice, plus the advantage of going last during the upcoming Diplomacy Phase were: Russia – the 5 value French Davout Card, Britain – the 5 value Austrian Kaiser Franz Card, Austria – the 4 value British Liverpool Card, and France – the 3 value Austrian Wittgenstein Card. Note that no player wagered their own nationality’s card. Each used a card of another Major Power… this gets those cards out of the game to prevent possibly being traded… this is a particular Coalition concern since France can compel a trade using their National Ability. The Russian and British players tied wagering 5 value cards. Britain used its tie-breaker National Ability to select itself as winner and chose to place the Government of France Issue marker on its track’s 2 space (5 value high card less 3 value low card).

To the above-referenced Issues, each player selected two for the turn 7 Negotiation Table. They were:

Austria: Congress of Peace & a Russian Military Operation (what a good ally!)

France: French 2x Recruitment (this gains 4 rather than the usual 2 military units… although with a -3VP penalty rather than usual -1VP) & Absolutism/Liberalism

Russia: Poland & a British Military Operation (wow, what a Coalition “love fest” this portends!)

Britain: a British Military Operation & Holland

Highlights of turn 7’s Diplomacy Phase included quite a bit of card trading among the players. France, Russia, and Austria each accomplished two trades each. However, Britain’s one attempt at a card trade failed when Britain requested a British card of France only to be told Akar’s French hand had no British card available. 

In response, Britain played the Talleyrand card to take advantage of that renown cagey diplomat’s key ability… to influence the Future Government of France Issue! This Talleyrand did with impressive brutal efficiency by bringing that Issue marker to the British National Track’s Seat (7 space). The other players were so stunned that none even murmured possibility of debate. Britain also played Duke of York to send a military cube to The War of 1812 Box to become a new Canadian militia unit. Austria played the Friedrich of Saxony card to secure the Saxony Issue for Austria.

There was a lot of back-and-forth as France sought to retain its 2x Recruitment Issue marker… particularly as France really needed its 4 military units since turn 7 is not a Replacement Turn. Unfortunately for the French, it was Britain, by playing their Castlereagh Leader card, who finally won the Issue by placing that marker on its National Track’s 5 space. France would therefore continue starving for military manpower. 

On a more optimistic note, France, anticipating success keeping the Absolutism/Liberalism marker on its National Track; played Gaudin for a +1 die roll modifier in rolling a Liberalism Track result as well as adding another French Resource to an already burgeoning French treasury. But Austria and Russia had plans of their own! They cooperated (one moved the Issue while the other immediately debated it) to steal Absolutism/Liberalism from France and place that Issue marker on Russia’s National Track! 

Austria and Russia then cooperated again, after France used both its Diplomacy Phase Pre-Emptive Debates and could no longer interfere (Pre-Emptive Debates allow France to debate an Issue’s track movement out of player sequence… which is a powerful advantage; especially when it is instantly followed by France’s regular Diplomacy Phase Round for a kind of “double move”). 

During a previous Diplomacy Round, France moved the Generalissimo Issue further towards its National Track’s Seat (7 space)… but that was not far enough into safety. Russia and Austria did a kind of “one/two punch” at the end of the Diplomacy Phase through Brice’s Tsar Alexander Leader card being played to get the Generalissimo marker to a point where Yu’s Metternich Leader card could immediately debate that move and secure Generalissimo for upcoming Central Europe’s track A battle. A frustrated France could do nothing to stop this.

When the turn 7 Diplomacy Phase ended, two Issue markers remained on the Negotiation Table: Poland and Congress of Peace. The National Tracks revealed won Issues as:

France (0): Such was Allied cooperation this turn, not a single Issue marker was on the French National Track! However, game forces now at work are against such lovey-doveyness continuing as the French VP lead diminishes… for only a single player can claim CoV game victory. A re-assertation of Allied rivalry is something France is counting on!

Russia (3): Absolutism/Liberalism (the counter flipped to is Absolutism side), British Financial Aid, Russian Military Operation

Britain (4): British Military Operation, British Military Operation, French Recruitment, Future Government of France

Austria (6): Austrian Military Operation, Russian Military Operation, British Financial Aid, Generalissimo, Holland, Saxony

With six Issues Austria won the Diplomacy Phase and its 2VP. Austria and France each spent an extra Resource for a +1VP “Sound Government reward. France acquired all four of its military support markers, but due to having won no Issues during the Diplomacy Phase, could not use all the Resources in its treasury. They were lost since a player cannot carry unused CoV Resources from one turn to another.

The Russian die roll for Absolutism was a “6”. This advanced the track’s pawn into its “Divine Right” space and an award of 5VP each to Russia and Austria. There could be no British Pax Britannica Track pawn advancement this turn since the prerequisite for a die roll was accomplishment of the “Treaty of Ghent“. This elicited suitable British player grumbling.

Britain did win the Future Government of France Issue and moved the track’s pawn from the “No Agreement” space into the red colored “King Louis XVIII Bourbon” space with the following effects: +4VP Britain, +3VP Austria, +2VP Russian, and +2VP to France… yup, a bit of happiness to all four players… with Albion being a bit more pleased than the three other Major Powers.

Since Austria won the Diplomacy Phase, that meant France had to do things first during the War Phase and Austria would go last. France got a free Military Operation marker for Napoleon being War Phase available. This was placed on track A’s Grande Armée to enable a French attack from Bavaria into Saxony. Russia then placed its Military Operation marker on track B, to trigger a Northern Army attack from Pomerania into Hanover. Britain placed one of its Military Operation markers on track C, for an Army of Portugal attack from Castile into the French homeland space of Gascony and the other British Military Operation marker into the War of 1812 Box. Austria concluded these placements with a Russian Military Operation marker on track A, to facilitate the Russian Army of Silesia and Austrian Army of Bohemia both attacking from Saxony into Bavaria (this would not be possible with a single Military Operation marker had Austria not won the Generalissimo Issue) and finally by placing its own Military Operation on track F to enable Army of Tyrol attacking the French homeland space of Venice from Tyrol.

France had Berthier and could move 4, rather than the usual 2, military units via Strategic Movement. Here are highlights of turn 7’s Strategic Movements: To avoid a Major Battle on track B, and the risk of defeat costing a VP, France transferred a unit from the Northern Army into the Grande Armée, reducing the Northern Army from 4 to 3 units. This seemingly clever and innocuous French move would later prove to have a significant consequence. France also reduced its Army of Italy to a single military unit. Russia sent a unit from its Army of Silesia into the Northern Army. Austria sent a unit from its Army of Bohemia to track F’s Army of Tyrol.

This brought the players to resolving turn 7, October 1813’s, War Phase Battles:

Central Europe track A: Both the French and Allies attacked one another… so whichever side won the battle would advance to capture an enemy held space. The Allied Armies of Silesia and Bohemia, between them, had an impressive 7 Russian, 5 Prussian, and 9 Austrian military units. A “Control Difficulty” die roll of “5” mean a reduction of 3 from 21 to 18 effective units vs. 7 Grande Armée military units. To these was added a French +3 DRM military support marker against the Generalissimo HQ’s +3DRM. The Allied cards were Schwarzenberg, Blucher, Von Klenau, and Yorck. They were opposed by the French military cards of Napoleon, Berthier, and Poniatowski (who survived his “Death Die Roll”).

The Austrian player, as Generalissimo, rolled two dice for a result of “6”. The French player, with the Napoleon/Berthier combination, got to select the best of two dice rolls… an “8” and “9”… so the “9” was chosen. However, the preponderance of Coalition strength in terms of military units, bonuses, and cards was too great for France to overcome. Napoleon was defeated for the second consecutive turn! 

The French lost 4 units to 3 Allied (which the Generalissimo equally divided so 1 Russian, 1 Prussian, and 1 Austrian unit were eliminated). France suffered penalty of -5VP (-2VP for Napoleon’s defeat in a major battle plus -3VP for the loss of Bavaria) while Russia and France each gained +5VP (+2VP for victory over the emperor and +3VP for the capture of Bavaria). Furthermore, for the next turn of the game, turn 8, Austria will gain a replacement and one card for its hand through controlling Bavaria. The battered Grande Armée, better than 50% reduced in strength, retreated into the mountainous French homeland fastness of Alsace… which is next door to Paris itself! 

Northern Europe track B: The Russian Northern Army in Pomerania of 11 Russian, Prussian, and Swedish units attacked the 3 unit French Army of Elbe in Hanover. France played a French military support marker and Bernadette, which reduced the Allies by -3DRM (for Bernadette having a bad day in command) while Russia had a military support marker of its own as well as Benningsen and battle card N-8, Prussian General Staff, for a +3DRM. The Russian player’s dice roll was a “5” versus a French player dice roll of “8”.

The result was a French disaster by a single “pip”! Had France not removed a unit from the Army of Elbe to reinforce Grande Armée during turn 7’s Strategic Movement; the battle would have been a stalemate with each side losing 2 units. Instead, it was a French defeat; losing 2 units to 1 Russian unit. This was not a major battle since France only had 3 units engaged (it takes at least 4 units on each side to have a major track battle) so there was no VP battle consequence. However, France took a -3VP penalty for losing Hanover while Russia gained +3VP for capturing Hanover.

Moreover, as the Army of Elbe retreated from Hanover into Holland; it chose to peel off a single French unit to occupy the Norway/Denmark Box. This reduced Army of Elbe to an empty shell. As the Russian Northern Army advanced into Hanover, it sent 4 Russian units into the Norway/ Denmark Box, whose Allied capture will cost France a -4VP penalty. There’ll be a new potential battle site next turn!

Western/Northern Spain track C: The British Army of Portugal of 2 British, 1 Portuguese, and 6 Spanish units out of Castile attacked France’s 7 unit Army of Spain in the mountainous French homeland space of Gascony. The French had Suchet in command with the bonuses of mountains and homeland… bonuses France would dearly require. For this British attack was led by Wellington, Hill, and Graham! The French player’s dice roll was a “9”. The British player, due to Wellington’s special ability, could choose the best of two dice rolls: a “5” and a “7”. The result was another foiled Allied attack on Gascony with each side losing a single unit. For the Allies, this was a single British military unit. 

This French feat kept the Allies at bay. For if the Army of Spain had been forced to retreat into track C’s Toulouse space, per rule 13.6.1.3, the French Army of Mediterranean would have been removed from the board and track E’s Catalonia and Pyrenees spaces, currently French controlled, would immediately fall to Britain… France would have taken a -2VP penalty for Catalonia while Britain would gain +2VP for that space. All this is moot… at least for now!

The Italian Front track F: The 1 unit French Army of Italy declared a Withdrawal from Venice versus Austria’s 4 unit Army of Tyrol. France rolled a remarkable “11” (where was that dice roll for either of the two preceding-described battles!?!) … one “pip” short of inflicting a single unit loss upon the advancing Austrians. The French withdrew into Italy while the Austrians captured Venice.

The loss of Venice inflicted a -2VP penalty on France and a +2VP award to Austria. Furthermore, Venice was the first French homeland space to fall under Allied control. This triggered the once per game “Amour sacré de la Patrie” rule’s die roll for a French gain of VP to indicate a rallying to the colors in face of enemy invasion. Alas for France, their die roll was a lamentable “1” (reflecting an apathetic populace), so a +1VP was awarded… “c’est la vie“, eh?

The War of 1812 track G: France had 3 Canadian militia and battle card N-7, “Trenches”, for a powerful +5DRM, for this distant from Europe theatre of war. Britain had 4 fleets, 2 Canadian militia, along with the Sherbrooke and Tecumseh cards (Tecumseh survived his “Death Die Roll”). The dice were unkind to Britain who rolled a “5” versus a French dice roll of “8”. The result was yet another stalemate with each side losing 2 units: Britain eliminated 1 fleet and 1 Canadian militia. The one surviving US Militia, its enlistment up, was removed after the battle leaving France with zero units in the War of 1812 Box. The 1812 Track remained in its +1VP British space.

End of turn VP were then awarded. Britain got 2VP (+1VP for Castile and +1VP for the War of 1812 Track), Austria received +1VP for controlling the Generalissimo, and France +1VP for Austria being in the war. 

Turn 7, October 1813, concluded with the Major Powers’ Victory Point Track Markers placed as follows: Austria – 58VP, France – 55VP (ah but for a higher “Amour sacré de la Patrie” die roll, lamented the French player, for my VP lead could have been retained!), Russia – 48VP, and Britain – 46VP. This clusters the markers within range for a possible game ending Congress of Peace. The players concluded this session urged to read Wargame Flavor Rule 15.7.1 Congress of Peace (CoP).

My observations are that France can still concentrate military strength at one decisive point on the map, but no longer has the means to defend from all compass directions. There are but three turns remaining to the game if it doesn’t end sooner through a Congress of Peace. The clock may well prove France’s friend. I advised Akar not to despair for this reason, as well as a possible French victory through a Congress of Peace. The game is not yet over for France.

Britain now has opportunities to grab VP with amphibious invasions from the Army of Scheldt into Holland (with Russian help) or to snatch Naples before Austria seizes it with the British Army of Sicily… and there remains VP opportunities in Spain and The War of 1812 Box. Alas for Albion, it only has two Military Operations markers available with a potential third, for the War of 1812, by obtaining and playing the James Gambier card to trigger a US Military Operation.

Then there are potential VP’s for the Future Government of France, Absolutism/Liberalism, and for Napoleon keeping the Allies out of Paris… ah, what a fun and tangled web for the players to navigate in seeking to discern their respective paths to a single player victory.

Turn 8, November-December 1813:

This Congress of Vienna Campaign Game using Wargame Flavor Rules session saw player continuity with Akar playing France, Brice Russia, Ku Austria, and Chris Britain. As observer/ chronicler, I’ll continue seeking to provide more detail of play to better illustrate some of the game’s nuances.

The Initial Situation for turn 8: Since Venice, a French homeland space, was captured by Austria last turn, the Future Government of France Issue marker is placed on the Negotiation Table.

Russia’s Section of the Card included a notice that due to “The Frozen Rhine”, any Coalition attack (Military Operation) against Alsace, Holland, or Belgium would benefit from a +2DRM. The Generalissmo and a Russian Military Operation markers were placed on the Russian National Track’s 1 space.

Austria’s Section of the Card placed the Congress of Peace on the Negotiation Table and Bavaria on the Austrian Track’s 2 space.

Britain’s Section of the Card placed both British Military Operation markers on the Negotiation Table and provided a free British Fleet, which the British player immediately sent to The War of 1812 Box. 

France’s Section of the Card announces the Treaty of Valencay, peace between Spain and France… this resulted in France receiving one Resource and one Replacement less than usual. Had Britain’s last turn attack on the French home space of Gascony succeeded; the Army of Portugal would have lost its Spanish military units to the British Force Pool. This represents the Spanish Crown transferring desperately needed troops from Europe in hopes of preserving rebellious colonies in the Americas. The British player avoids this potential loss of Spanish units. Finally, the Initial Situation card indicates that the French player adds Davout and the British Fernando VII card into his turn 8 hand and must accept the bad news that he cannot select the French Recruitment Issue this turn. He has received possibly the best French card and the worst card in the game, Fernando, the treacherous king of Spain!

The Initial Environment Table dice roll results is a first die roll of “6” and second die roll of “4”. This allows the French player to choose an additional card for his hand (Berthier, who when played with Napoleon for a track A battle, lets the French player choose between two dice rolls. Furthermore, Berthier doubles France’s Strategic Movement capacity from 2 to 4 military units.). France receives an additional Resource… which repairs the above-mentioned loss of a Resource and the War of 1812 Box gets 4 US Militia military units with a US Military Operation marker.

Wagers for an Extra Issue Marker and to Determine Diplomacy Phase Player Sequence: Akar (France) – 2 value Russian Card Yorck; Brice (Russia) 3 value French Card Eugene; Ku (Austria) – 4 value British Card Liverpool; Chris (Britain) – 4 value French Card Fouche. It’s a tie between Austria and Britain who each wager 4 value cards. Britain decides ties and mandatorily must win! The Russian player decides not to invoke his “Imperial Staff” National Advantage to play a 4 value Russian card, which would have received a +1 to its printed value, to win the wager and return the Eugene card into his hand. The British wager win is therefore preserved and Britain selects its own British Financial Aid Issue marker for its National Track’s 2 space… a position determined by wagered high value 4 card less low value 2 card.

To the above-referenced Issues, each player selects two Issues for the turn 8 Negotiation Table. They were:

Austria: an Austrian Military Operation, a Russian Military Operation

France: Holland & Italy (winning each of these would provide France a VP and much needed Military Unit)

Russia: Absolutism/Liberalism and the second British Financial Aid marker

Britain: Hanover & Norway

As an observer, I could not help but notice the Austrian and Russian Coalition players selecting but two Military Operation markers, one Austrian and one Russian, plus the initially placed Russian Military Operation marker for the upcoming turn 8 War Phase when they have four offensive opportunities for those two players: Central Europe track A from Bavaria into the French mountain homeland space of Alsace (adjacent to Paris!), Northern Europe track B from Hanover into Holland as well as for the Norway/Denmark Box; and finally track F, from Venice into the valuable French Italy homeland space. One of those opportunities cannot be addressed… which one, eh?

Britain has several interesting options since it got a “free” battle for the War of 1812 Box with a US Military Operation. A British victory here would move the War of 1812 Track marker into its +2 Britain box and the possibility of a war ending Treaty of Ghent next turn. If Britain can secure its two Military Operation markers now on the Negotiation Table; it could again attack track C’s Gascony and/or consider an Amphibious attack with the Army of the Scheldt, in coordination with Russia’s track B Northern Army, to seize Holland and a 3VP solely British reward. Finally, there’s the possibility for a track E amphibious invasion of Naples by Britain’s Army of Sicily to snatch Naples and a 3VP reward before Austria can grab it. Possibilities, possibilities…

What transpired during turn 8’s Diplomacy Phase? Here are highlights:

Each Major Power, with exception of Britain who did two of them, executed one card trade with another Major Power. Russia played the Stein card for Absolutism/Liberalism, for a +1 die roll modification for Absolutism, and which was immediately debated by Britain playing the Huskisson card, for a +1 die roll modification for Liberalism! Well, whether the die roll is for Absolutism or Liberalism there’ll be at least a +1 die roll modifier for it! The Russian player later played his Tsar Leader to move Absolutism/Liberalism to the Russian Track’s 5 space and then another card to “lock” it into the Track’s “seat” with an excess (9 space). However, that regular card play could be easily debated… which France and Britain did most effectively… their coordinated moves resulted in Russia dramatically losing the Absolutism / Liberalism Issue to the British National Track!

The French player, despairing of holding track A’s Alsace with a weak Grande Armée against the combined might of a Generalissimo-led Russian Army of Silesia and Austrian Army of Bohemia (3 French units versus 19 Allied… although this is before possible additional French units through winning Minor Country Issues and for this “R” turn’s replacements) never-the-less saved his Napoleon Leader for the upcoming War Phase, but on cumulative basis used two other cards to “lock” the Congress of Peace Issue into the French National Track’s “seat”. No Allied player(s) effectively debated these plays and an anxious Napoleon will be available for use during this turn’s War Phase.

For whatever reason, towards the end of the Diplomacy Phase, the British and Austria players squabbled over Hanover. Britain used its Castlereagh Leader to move that Issue to its National Track’s 5 space only to have Austria’s Metternich Leader debate that Minor Country Issue into the Austrian Track’s 2 space. 

When turn 8’s Diplomacy Phase ended, each Major Power had secured on its respective National Tracks:

France (1): Congress of Peace – its sole won Issue… such was Allied cooperation in keeping France suppressed!

Russia (3): British Financial Aid, Generalissimo, a Russian Military Operation

Britain (2): Liberalism, British Financial Aid

Austria (6): Holland, Bavaria, Hanover, a Russian Military Operation, a British Military Operation, an Austrian Military Operation (Readers should note that Russia and Britain must pay their own Resources for their Military Operation markers on Austria’s Track; but it will be the Austrian player who chooses where to place each marker on a legitimate Congress of Vienna board location to initiate battles.) For Ku as Austria to win six Issues on two consecutive turns is a remarkable Congress of Vienna game accomplishment! Well done Ku!

With 6 Issues, Austria won the Diplomacy Phase and its 2VP reward. The action ended with Italy, Saxony, a British Military Operation, as well as the Government of France Issues remaining on the Negotiation Table. 

Possible Resolution of a Congress of Peace (CoP) had to be done next. Akar, the French Player, chose to hold the Congress of Peace and not take a -2VP penalty for spurning the opportunity (for being a “warlike and belligerent” scoundrel as Frank notes in the CoP rule). 

We then proceeded to execute the Congress of Peace per the game’s Wargamer Flavor Rule procedure. It should be noted this is an OPTIONAL RULE which could end a game in Sudden Death. It is not part of Congress of Vienna‘s Basic Game:

Step 1 – Are the four Major Powers within 15VP from current high score to low score? Yes. The VP markers were positioned…

AUSTRIA = 62VP, FRANCE = 60VP, BRITAIN = 49VP, RUSSIA = 48VP… a difference of 14 from low to high score.

Step 2 – Resolve all Diplomacy Track Issues including Pax Britannic andAbsolutism / Liberalism. France invested sufficient Resources to make certain no die roll was needed for resolving Liberalism… the track’s pawn was consequently moved into its final top-most “Liberalism/Democracy” Box to award +3VP to each of Britain and France. Britain needed the Treaty of Ghent to proceed to its next Pax Britannica Track Box, so that step was ignored. After paying for priority Resourcing, Austria had but one Resource left to pay for its three won Minor Country Issues: Bavaria received a Resource and Austria gained +1VP and a military unit. The other two Issues, which never-the-less counted for Austria winning the Diplomacy Phase, were returned to the Issue Array.

Step 3 – “Political Winds” Die Rolling: Per Congress of Peace Wargame Flavor Rule, the Major Power with the most VP rolls a single die and subtracts its result. Ku, as Austria, rolls a “1” and his VP marker moves from the 62VP to 61VP track box… a single VP ahead of France’s marker! The second and fourth VP place Major Power markers remain unchanged… but the Major Power in third place now rolls a single die and adds its result for VP. Chris, as Britain, rolls a “2” and Britain’s VP marker advances into the 51VP space.

Step 4 – Determine if the CoP is a Success (and if yes, calculate the Game Winner): After these adjustments, should the delta between Major Powers in first and second place be 5 or less the game is over and final at Game End VP, if any, are calculated to determine a winner. That’s certainly the case with the Austrian marker in the 61VP space and France’s in its 60VP. Yet there are two “End of Game” VP calculations to add:

The first is for Liberalism – The Liberalism Track’s pawn is at its final “Liberalism/Democracy” Box while the Absolutism Track’s pawn is not in its final “Absolutism/Holy Alliance” Box. Therefore, the end of game bonus of +5VP each is awarded to France and Britain. This has the French VP marker pass the Austrian marker… France will now win the game!

The next element is for Napoleon’s survival – Since Paris is free of any enemy Army Block(s); two dice, whose result is halved, are rolled for bonus French VP (had at least one enemy Army occupied Paris, only a single die would have been rolled for this French bonus). This is “icing on the cake” for a dice roll of +4VP. The French VP marker comes to final rest in the track’s 69VP space.

What a game! Congratulations to Akar for a clutch victory as France… the emperor would be pleased.. oh so very pleased indeed!

Readers can look back at this After-Action-Report to determine crucial plays as well as die/dice rolls which influenced this dramatically achieved French victory. The best part of this experience for me as an observer was sharing the fun Akar, Ku, Chris, and Brice had with this Congress of Vienna game!

Player Post-Game Remarks – Akar (France):

Congress of Vienna was an amazing way to spend two months of Saturday mornings. The game truly has a tense, epic, and complex feel. It is blissfully asymmetrical, with conflicts occurring among all players in different regions, and even different dimensions (military & diplomatic). It takes the great system originated by Mark Herman’s Churchill, a masterpiece on its own, and adds an extra layer of period rich elaboration, variety, and personal involvement, making it feel even more epic and satisfying than that now legendary game. Adding a common enemy, a combined deck with more nuanced cards, and a more detailed military phase has done wonders to add new dynamism to the already great system Churchill incepted.

Playing as France was a uniquely fascinating player experience for me. It had that delightful frustration of having everyone gang up on me, which only made it more satisfying when the Allies fought amongst themselves, allowing me to sneak in and take a choice issue or two during a Diplomacy Phase that changed the course of the war.

I love history, but as an American, I always found the Napoleonic Wars abstract and convoluted; because I was personally distant from the territories, ideals, and familial connections being fought over. This game, Congress of Vienna, changed all that, helping me understand the scope and motivations behind this complex conflict, as well as the people involved. I’ve lived near Washington, DC, Baltimore, and New Orleans, where the memory of the War of 1812 runs deep, and here, in this brilliant game designed by Frank Esparrago, is that war, properly cast as a small side project to a far larger conflict fought an entire continent away.

This game truly makes war feel like, to quote Napoleonic Wars veteran Carl Von Clausewitz, “a continuation of politics by other means.” Conflict, both military and diplomatic, appear as part of the same spectrum, fought with the same limited resources and tools. I haven’t seen another game portray this thesis so well on this scale before. Neither diplomacy nor military dominates the other, and both are necessary for victory.

I would recommend Congress of Vienna to anyone who loves Churchill but would like something more detailed and engaging, or who loves Here I Stand but would like something less complicated, or who loves complex Eurogames but would like to learn more about this fascinating period’s history and in game terms vicariously explore it.

Player Post-Game Remarks – Chris (Britain):

This is my post-mortem on the above referenced Congress of Vienna Campaign Game match… a few observations from the British side:

-View from 25,000 feet in the air… this is a very interesting/engaging take on the final years of Napoleonic Europe, and a clear step forward of the Churchill design. The game’s moving parts and levers are interesting to play with, and the game landscape is just fun… with lots of elbow room for negotiation, wild swings of fortune, and pretty much every die/dice roll (and there really are not all that many) were incredibly tense for all four players; as everyone has a stake in pretty much every outcome on the board. That shared experience of, for example, waiting to see the results from the clash of armies on the northern front makes for a memorable campaign game and helps ground the decisions hashed out during each Diplomacy Phase’s Negotiation Round. 

The balancing act between success at the bargaining table and battles in the field is quite interesting to navigate. 

-The game is relatively easy to learn particularly if you have any experience with Churchill, as the general concepts/framework are the same. It is, however, significantly deeper with more elements to digest, as there are more moving parts (particularly in regard to the larger shared deck and extensive degree of information on those cards).

Still, it did not take more than a turn or two for me to start playing the Congress of Vienna strategically as an experienced Churchill player. 

-The gameplay itself is more engaging than Churchill, as you just have more options to ponder. Congress of Vienna’s bringing the opposing faction to the bargaining table in the form of a playable Napoleon side is a bit of genius; to be honest… so much of the game now hinges on how the Coalition treats with France, both individually and collectively.

-Even playing as just Britain, my perspective is that each Major Power feels quite a bit different from one another. This game is asymmetrical. Where France appears to be akin to strapping oneself to a rocket, Russia seems like a straightforward battering ram, Britain a jack of all trades, and Austria a slow burn… our French player looked like he was having a blast playing the game, between constantly putting out fires while trying to nudge the coalition into blind corners… while the Austrian side was playing the much more nuanced role of Metternich to the hilt, frustrating everyone at the negotiation table and almost winning despite leaving barely any significant mark on the battlefield. A cool game indeed!

Player Post-Game Remarks – Ku (Austria):

– Congress of Vienna has delivered me great feelings for the game thus far. Being a Churchill / Pericles player, Congress of Vienna is a nice addition to the Great Statesmen franchise. It retains core aspects of the series (a Diplomacy Phase and conference, involving shrewd and fleeting collaboration between allies of necessity…) but this isn’t just a system paste on as it brings its own unique game mechanisms (mostly, but not limited to an emphasis of Military aspects / troop gestion, kept at a fairly abstract / highly strategic level so a full game remains playable in a single session).

– The core rules are pretty solid and easy to learn for anyone who played a Great Statemen game before… there will be minor differences, but it would be akin to learning a new COIN or 18xx game, you’ll have to learn and appreciate the differences; but those should be fairly easy. For a new player, it’ll be up to the final rule book but as far as I am concerned the current rule book we’re using for play testing is coherent and comprehensive. I am sure the final one will be even better.

– The downside of the sessions was probably having to play remotely. I was new to VASSAL and prefer face to face play… but there happens to be a pandemic and an ocean in the way which separates our Saturday Sessions players. We coped.

– On the plus side, though, well first of all, the downside is not related to the game itself, which is always a good sign! Furthermore, this game was a first participation on my end. I now think I understand some game interactions better and even have a number of ideas to try with the various Congress of Vienna Major Powers. I believe I have but scratched the surface of this fine game’s re-playability (changing sides, trying alternate situation cards, handicap cards and so on). I may have lost this game as Austria, but I now also want to be crushed as France, Britain, Russia or even Austria again while trying different things to achieve victory.

– Playing as Austria is definitely a different experience from what you feel in Churchill (maybe closest to playing the UK in Churchill as you try to use your limited means to ensure helping your allies just enough so no other player leaps ahead of you insurmountably); but you are at peace for the first part of the game which also means you are free to focus a lot on diplomacy (you have cards and don’t need to keep them for the Military Phase while Austria is neutral)… but your military strength in terms of units and leaders will definitely be needed at some point since Russia won’t be able to handle France alone… just be certain to let them do the heavy lifting, arrive at the last minute and save Russia’s day… but remember to arrive before Napoleon can do a second Russian campaign invasion!

– I also think I should thank Frank, Fred and Dick for being in the sessions with us, providing us advice if needed, rule clarifications, and those great entertaining AARs.

Player Post-Game Remarks – Brice (Russia):

For me the best part of this game is the Diplomatic Phase when it is really tough to decide what to do. I always want this phase to be longer than its six Rounds; for when you have some of what you want, but not all of what you want, then the number of Rounds in the Phase is just about right. Each Round consists of a hard call whether to decide to take an Issue and possibly have someone debate it and steal it away from you, or wait for someone else to take the Issue, so you can debate and steal it from them (thus saving a Round). The give and take works very well… and a player should never forget to offer another player a card trade to improve their hand!

Another major point during the Diplomatic Phase is balancing your self-interest versus the allies’ common good. This is hardest part of Congress of Vienna and where experience with the game really counts. It would be France’s game to take if the allied Coalition partners do not sacrifice some self-benefits to combat Napoleon’s juggernaut. The idea of cooperation and common good must be remembered at all times by the allies (although, unfortunately, cooperation and common good is sometimes not so well remembered!). In the game this AAR chronicles, we could have done this better. Ah, regrets!

During the War Phase the allies have to show initiative because I believe that stalemates are really French victories. Furthermore, the benefits given for winning battles, and advancing a space forward along a track gives the Allies their best chance of winning the game. How to split up the General (Military Leader) cards to supply drm’s to the battle dice between the different fronts can be a difficult decision (cross your fingers that your gut feeling will be correct!). The French are fighting on many fronts but can have what seems to be a virtually inexhaustible supply of manpower until that much needed Coalition cooperation attritions them down to manageability. In our game, the allies did reasonably well with the battles; although time was running out and it would have a tough situation, but one possible for the Allies to military win.

The Peace Congress (which ended our game) is a very good wild card that adds to the unpredictability of Congress of Vienna. The availability of this Issue definitely has to be monitored when it is in play and will ruin someone’s day no matter who has the Issue. I like this part of the game a lot, although I have been burned by it several times.

From playing Congress of Vienna I found each and every turn keeps the same amount of interest, excitement, and provides lots of variety in choices of play. 

You do feel like every Round or Battle is like its own game and you are intensely fighting for the moment, but you have to keep in mind the strategic long view for both sides and the strategic events that can have a major, if not final effect on the game. A very good and engaging game.

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